Hogsett Announces More Results in Fight Against Violent Crime

Federal and Local Cooperation Leads to 25 Year Prison Sentence for Cicero Bank Robbery

INDIANAPOLIS—United States Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett announced that Cristofer Tichenor, 32, Indianapolis, was sentenced to 300 months (25 years) in prison today by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker following his guilty plea to armed bank robbery and discharge of a firearm during that bank robbery. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cicero Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, the Noblesville Police Department, the Carmel Police Department, and the Indiana State Police.

On February 18, 2009, at approximately 8:33 a.m., a masked man, later identified as Cristofer Tichenor ("Tichenor"), entered the Community Bank, located at 1100 South Peru Street, Cicero, Ind., and fired a gunshot into the ceiling. Tichenor was wearing loose-fitting clothing and a black ski mask pulled over his face, and had a snub-nosed revolver, which he used to fire the gunshot into the ceiling upon entering. Tichenor demanded that the bank tellers and manager give him the “0’s and 100’s" out of the safe, pointing the gun at them as he shouted commands. Tichenor removed several bundles of U.S. currency from the bank’s safe, and was able to escape with $52,900 in U.S. currency. Within moments after Tichenor left the bank, the bank manager called 911 to report the robbery.

A Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy immediately responded to the call, and quickly drove in the direction the robber was seen fleeing the bank. The Deputy was able to identify what appeared to be a “witch car," and pursued that vehicle at a high rate of speed. The suspect vehicle turned down a residential driveway, and an individual matching the description of the robber fled from the passenger seat of the vehicle. The Deputy apprehended the driver of the vehicle, who was later identified to be a juvenile, and called for assistance.

Law enforcement officers quickly established a “erimeter" in order to cut off avenues of escape, and scent-tracking dogs were brought to the scene and began to trail the suspect. Along the trail followed by the dogs several items of clothing consistent with those the robber was wearing were located, as was a bag containing the $52,900 stolen from the bank. The trail led towards the back of a residence, where Tichenor was found concealed in an unfinished attic space accessible through the garage. Several of the clothing items found along the trail were forensically linked to Tichenor.

“This office is focused on prosecuting violent offenders," said Hogsett. “he citizens of Indiana deserve to live safe lives in safe communities, and we intend to work even harder with our partners in federal, state and local law enforcement to see that offenders like Mr. Tichenor are brought to justice and stopped from causing further mayhem. I commend both the investigative team and the prosecution on this case for their hard, smart and diligent work in apprehending Mr. Tichenor and bringing him to justice.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Brant Cook and Bradley P. Shepard, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge Barker also imposed five years’ supervised release following Tichenor’s release from prison. Tichenor was fined in the amount of $1,000.